Sixty million orphans will go to bed hungry tonight; $15 will feed an orphan for a month

When I hung up the phone after a long conversation with my friend Gary VanDyke, I knew what I had to do. Gary had just returned from a trip to China where he was exploring new orphanages the nonprofit he runs, Food for Orphans, could support.

His stories were heart-wrenching.

He told me about the orphanage he visited that was packed with about 70 babies, all of them blind… the brave little girl he met, fighting for her life, after her parents tossed her out of a moving car because they didn't want her any more… the children at the orphan school who are only allowed to eat two bites from their school lunch because they have to take the rest back to share with their foster families....the orphanage of abandoned children of prostitutes... the AIDS babies....

As the father of two little girls, it was too much for me to just ignore. I decided to put aside my other projects for the time being and devote my full time and energy to helping Gary raise money for Food for Orphans.

I'm hoping you will help me.

Although the issues contributing to poverty, hunger and orphaned children are indeed complex ones, the mission of Food for Orphans is simple and straightforward: make sure every orphan receives at least one nutritious meal per day. Many times, that’s the difference between life and death.

The numbers may seem overwhelming:


• There are over 150 million orphans worldwide
• 44,000 new orphans every day
• Every 90 seconds another orphan starves to death
• 60 million orphans go to bed hungry every night


But here’s the amazing part: It only takes $15 to feed an orphan EVERY DAY for a MONTH.

Think about it, what we pay for a cheap entrée in a restaurant here will feed a kid for a month in a third-world country. $150 per month will feed ten orphans every day and $600 per month will feed 40 orphans (an entire average-size orphanage).

I’m asking everyone I know to consider making a donation.

The easiest way is on the Food for Orphans website. It’s quick and secure. Click on the Donate Now button on the Food for Orphans website.

Food for Orphans is a 501(c)3 organization; your donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent provided by the IRS.

You can rest assured that the money you donate will get to the orphans who need it. We've all heard stories about unscrupulous officials intercepting monies intended for charitable purposes. Food for Orphans is very active and involved in the orphanages, orphan schools and foster care facilities it supports and keeps close tabs on its donations.

Well-trained and experienced staff at Food for Orphans visit orphanages, evaluate programs, measure the needs of orphans and projects, and train the orphan caregivers on diet and nutrition.

I am confident that Food for Orphans is providing food for children who truly need help, mostly in orphanages in the poorest third-world countries – currently in Asia, Africa, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean.

Food for Orphans only supports reputable orphanages who are trying their best to tend to the needs of the children in their care, yet struggle to provide food for them. They require financial accountability, monthly reports, updates on the condition of the orphans, and unlimited access to the project.

In most cases, food is purchased in the village where the orphanage is located which helps bolster the local economy. Sometimes they ship large containers of dehydrated meals.

Last year, Food for Orphans provided 600,000 nutritious meals to hungry orphans. The goal for 2011 is one million.

I know times are tough and many of you are struggling to make ends meet. I also know that there are hungry children who need help right here in the US.

But, the level of poverty in some of these third-world countries is unimaginable to most of us. Orphan children, already with so many odds stacked against them, are the poorest of the poor, certainly “the least among us.”

For them, we may be their only safety net. For them, a $15 donation may be the difference between life and death.

Whatever you can do will be greatly appreciated.

Food for Orphans
PO Box 26123
Colorado Springs, CO 80936

Visit the Food for Orphans website

Number of Homeless Families and Children on the Rise in US: National Disgrace

Homeless. What image comes to mind? There’s the dirty old woman in tattered clothes who hunkers down on the sidewalk outside my office. She mumbles unintelligibly to no one in particular and smokes cigarillos. She’s known to verbally assault anyone who makes eye contact, so I don’t.

There’s the self-identified Viet Nam vet on the corner of the Interstate exit ramp holding a handmade sign in one hand and a fifth of Jack Daniels in the other.

Those two are easy to peg as homeless.

Certainly mental illness and substance abuse play a major role in the issue. But the truth of the matter is that the homeless come in all packages. It’s not as easy to peg the cute kid who sits next to my daughter in kindergarten as homeless.

Most homeless are hidden from view – in cardboard camps like the one in the woods behind the big box stores out University Drive between Durham and Chapel Hill, otherwise a shining example of capitalism a-flourishing. Or the ones bouncing from one temporary shelter to another or to the houses of classmate to classmate - perhaps never sleeping out in the cold, but homeless nevertheless.

The ranks of the homeless include hard-working families living paycheck to paycheck when the paychecks stop coming for some reason.... and runaway teens and displaced immigrants, and social renegades. And battered women and their young children with nowhere to turn. There are those who find themselves in such dire straits because of a lifetime of bad choices and others through no fault of their own.

There are those who will get their lives back together with a little help and others who will die on the streets.

They all deserve another chance.

The most tragic victims of homelessness are children, who make up about 27% of the homeless population, according to estimates recently reported by the National Center on Family Homelessness (NCFH). An alarming 1.5 million children (or 1 out of every 50 children in America) are homeless, which is unconscionable in a nation as prosperous as the US.

Families with children are now the fastest growing sub-group among the homeless population; they account for about 40% of the people who become homeless each year. About 50% of America's homeless women and children are running from domestic abuse.

The effects of the economic downturn – including increasing numbers of foreclosures, job losses, rising food and fuel prices, and inadequate supplies of low-cost housing – will surely add to the numbers of children and families among the ranks of the homeless.

Homeless Children More Likely to be Hungry, Sick and Underachieve in School

Not surprising: children without homes are twice as likely to experience hunger as other children; two-thirds worry they won’t have enough to eat; more than one-third report being forced to skip meals.

Homeless children are more than twice as likely as middle class children to have moderate to severe acute and chronic health problems.

They are twice as likely as other children to repeat a grade in school, to be expelled or suspended and to drop out of school. The graduation rate among homeless children is less than 25%.

Not only do homeless children lack basic shelter, but they also suffer from a lack of safety, comfort, privacy, a sense of routine and normalcy, adequate health care, sustaining relationships, and a sense of community. These factors combine to create a life-altering experience that inflicts profound and lasting scars.

Ultimately, homelessness is a death sentence. The average age of death for individuals living without shelter is 48 years. That’s about a 30-year shorter life expectancy than the average American.

Like most social ills, the issues surrounding child homelessness are complex. Solutions aren’t easy to find, but they do exist.

In its America’s Youngest Outcasts: State Report Card on Child Homelessness, the NCFH suggests that it is possible to “end child homelessness within a decade” but only if it becomes a national priority.

The Report provides a number of recommendations for federal and state governments which should be implemented right away.

According to the report, at least six states have created extensive plans to combat child homelessness, and a dozen additional states have done significant planning. We should learn from the states that are successful and replicate what works everywhere else.

For me, stable shelter should be considered a basic human right and among the nation’s most urgent priorities. If we fail to act, the consequences will play out for years to come as a generation of lost children grows to adulthood.

Government alone can't solve the problem of homelessness (and shouldn't be expected to).  It should, however, recognize the issue as a crisis and assert the political will to solve it.  Other sectors should follow: corporate, faith, media, nonprofits, education, entertainment and individuals from all walks of life.

The outpouring of support following the recent earthquake in Haiti once again demonstrated America's generosity and desire to lend a helping hand during times of crisis, which is inspiring. Still, there are children and families in every large and small city across the US struggling to survive, as well.

As you read this, I urge you to agree with me that it is unacceptable for even one child in the United States to be homeless for even one day. Each of us must take the actions necessary to end this national disgrace.



Homeless family living in a car - flickr